While Lakeith Stanfield has slowly become an on-screen go-to guy in recent years, the 28-year-old San Bernardino-bred actor has revealed that Atlanta is his all-time favorite work environment. The actor/aspiring musician‘s Hollywood takeover has been one of the most awe-inspiring events to witness as he starred alongside Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems (2019), and had pivotal roles in films like Knives Out (2019), Get Out (2017), and more. Now, in promotion of his latest project, The Photograph (2020), starring himself and Issa Rae, he stopped by Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning to discuss a wide array of topics including his favorite sets he’s worked on thus far in his blossoming career. 

Ebro Darden, Peter Rosenberg, and Laura Stylez berated the upcoming movie star with questions in regards to his rise to prominence on the silver screen, his issues with media accountability, starring in the upcoming Fred Hampton film, meeting the infamous Teddy Perkins, Donald Glover’s impact on the culture, and more. Around the 6:05 mark of the interview, the Ebro clique got introspective with the multifaceted actor asking him about his thoughts on the musician turned scriptwriter, Donald Glover, stating:

“I think there are many, many, many people who are genius but some people that are allowed to tap into it or know how to tap into it, and some people who don’t. And some people allow themselves the space to tap into it. He’s just tapped into it. And once you tap into it, you gotta stay the course and realize that your genius is going to cause things to shake up and people ain’t gonna understand you. But you just gotta keep walking the line and that’s what he’s done… his genius ain’t no surprise to me.”

At the 7-minute mark, Lakeith revealed that Atlanta was his favorite work environment to date exclaiming:

“Atlanta‘s my favorite set to work on. Everyone there feels like family. It’s a bit of a coveted situation where we are all sort of in one thought, walking together, and we don’t really let outside things come in and break up and shake up what we’re doing. And we believe in it and we feel like we’re doing something new and trailblazing. So, I love being there. It’s a gift and an honor for me.”

With Lakeith Stanfield providing the masses with its latest blockbuster black love film in The Photograph, in theaters tomorrow on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), the possibilities are endless for the well-rounded thespian. Who knows, he could become DC Universe’s newest arch-nemesis. Check out Lakeith Stanfield’s full interview on the Ebro in the Morning show in the video provided below. 

If you take a glance at Lil Rel Howery’s IMDB page and see the list of projects he has lined up, it’ll become immediately clear that he’s one of the busiest actors in Hollywood at the moment. The next project we’ll have the opportunity to see him in is The Photograph, a romantic comedy/drama that arrives on Valentine’s Day. Issa Rae and Lakeith Stanfield star as the movie’s leads and it will not be their first times working alongside Lil Rel – they all appeared in the music video for Jay-Z’s 2017 song, “Moonlight”. 

Lil Rel served as the guest on the latest episode of Complex’s “Watch Less” podcast. He was asked about his experience shooting the “Moonlight” video and he revealed that Jay-Z could have gone with a more humorous alternative. The final product was a word-for-word reenactment of an actual Friends episode by a cast of black comedians. However, according to Lil Rey, before they shot this version, the cast – which consisted of Jerrod Carmichael, Issa Rae, Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish, Tessa Thompson and Lakeith Stanfield – had improvised their own sitcom skit. “There was one rehearsal where we all talked like how we wanted to talk,” Rel explained. “And it was funnier than that episode of Friends.” He also said that the actors had even requested to go with that idea for the official video, but they ultimately opted for the remake. 

When Stanfield spoke about the music video on The Tonight Show, he confessed that he had never seen an episode of Friends before participating in that project. 

The internet was in a tizzy last year after news circulated that actress and filmmaker Issa Rae had planned on revamping the 1996 classic film Set It Off. The bank heist crime thriller starred Jada Pinkett-Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise, and when people heard that a new version would be making its way to the silver screens, not everyone was on board. Especially not Vivica.

David Livingston / Stringer / Getty Images

“It’s a classic, leave it alone,” Vivica told ET Live back in November. “There’s absolutely no reason to try to redo it. It’s been done, and we did it so well, that people are absolutely going to compare it to that and I think that’s her taking on a tremendous chore because that film has become a cult classic and some things are just better left like, create your own franchise.” She added, “If you want to do a new film of girls robbing banks, create your own thing.”

While promoting her recent film The Photographwith Entertainment Tonight, Issa was asked to speak on the Set It Off remake rumors. According to the actress, she’s clueless about the gossip. “Oh, I would never remake a classic,” Issa said nonchalantly. “I don’t know where that came from.” When the rumors started, it was said that Issa was in the early stages of developing the remake, so the backlash could have contributed to the halt. We’ll never know.

Lakeith Stanfield has blossomed into one of Hollywood’s premier and most sought-after talents over the past half-decade. His lead performance in the “Teddy Perkins” episode of Atlanta was an unforgettable experience and he proved he has the ability to carry an entire film with his performance in Sorry To Bother You (2018). Now, with some major film credits under his belt in the form of Uncut Gems, The Knives Out, and The Photograph, the actor/rapper believes that he has the acting chops to embody Batman’s archnemesis, The Joker. 

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

During a recent sit down with late-night television legend, Jimmy Kimmel, in promotion of his upcoming film, The Photograph, starring Issa Rae, Lakeith Stanfield spoke on his experience of ditching acting school for modeling school, his experience working with Adam Sandler and Kevin Garnett on their film Uncut Gems, love, and more. However, things got really interesting when he revealed that we would be interested in playing his own version of the Joker after praising Joaquin Phoenix‘s performance in, Joker (2019). 

When asked about showing up to the premiere of Joker dressed as the DC Comic villain, the Atlanta actor had this to say:

“I just like dressing up and I also love the Joker, so there you go. You got both things.”

Kimmel then asked if Stanfield would be up for the challenge to play the popular villain stating:

“I’d love to play the Joker. That’d be beautiful.” Stanfield continued revealing he makes his home movies proclaiming, “That makes me go ‘Wait till they see me do it.’ Also, I make my own Joker movies at home with my own personal camera. All you gotta do is dress up and make your own. Why not? I still had the makeup on so I was like, ‘Let me just keep going with it.'”

As a creative introvert, Lakeith Stanfield is one of the greatest runs in recent entertainment history. Check out Lakeith’s interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! below and check out The Photograph starring Lakeith Stanfield and Issa Rae in theaters this Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.